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Just like the title says, is (ISC)2's SSCP cert worth the effort? CISSP is too much for me at this point with life's other events. That's still a year or two down the road. Need to have a cert now though. I have CompTIA's Sec+ but I really don't care for CompTIA and I didn't opt into their CE program. That makes my "good for life" Sec+ pretty crappy at this point. Any opinions?

It depends on what your goals are. Are you trying to get a job, or are you simply wanting to learn something new?

If you are looking for security work:

What kind of work are you doing right now, and what kind of work are you trying to get into? Without knowing any of this, I can only give very generalized advice.

If you are interested in working on the government side (including contracting), the SSCP counts as both IAT I and II for the DoD 8570.1 requirements. That in combination with your Security+ certificate, would go a long way towards getting your foot in the door. Personally, I had only my Security+ combined with a background in telecommunications when I landed my NetSec gig, but every little bit helps.

A lot of civilian companies don't care about certifications, but many of them do. Many people think that certifications are a sign of incompetence, but its easy to say you shouldn't bother with a certificate that might land you a job when you are already working in the industry.

As far as having a Security+, I look at it this way. You claim that you aren't ready to get a CISSP, so right off the bat, any company that requires one isn't going to be interested in you anyways. Other than the CISSP, the only other certificate that nearly everyone recognizes is the Security+. So out of the companies willing to talk to someone without a CISSP, you already have the most recognizable certificate out there. Anything you have in addition to this is probably just going to be a bonus in their eyes. If you are given a chance, you can explain in an interview that the SSCP is a cert from the same company as the CISSP, and that it's basically a step down from that.